Petition for Modification
In the matter of
B. and B. Coal Company
Rock Ridge No. 1 Slope Mine
I.D. No. 36-07741
Docket No. M-1999-045-C
30 CFR 75.1312(e)(1)
PROPOSED DECISION AND ORDER
On April 27, 1999, B. and B. Coal Company, filed a petition seeking a modification of the application of 30 CFR 75.1312(e)(1) to its Rock Ridge No. 1 Slope Mine, located in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The Petitioner alleges that the alternative method proposed in the petition will at all times guarantee no less than the same measure of protection afforded by the standard.
MSHA personnel conducted an investigation of the petition and filed a report of their findings and recommendations with the Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health. After a careful review of the entire record, including the petition and MSHA's investigative report and recommendations, this Proposed Decision and Order is issued.
Finding of Fact and Conclusion of Law
Section 75.1312(e)(1) of 30 CFR provides that all magazines containing explosives and detonators shall be located at least 25 feet from roadways and any source of electric current.
Petitioner alleges that the proposed alternative method will at all times guarantee no less than the same measure of protection afforded by the standard as applied to anthracite mining. Anthracite, by the nature of its geologic conditions requires mining by drilling, blasting, and then gravity flow of the product to wooden chutes that dump into small track cars. Anthracite mining does not employ a mining method that uses trailing cables nor does the equipment change places, as in a bituminous coal mine. The equipment in these mines is air, hand or battery powered. Few anthracite mines have rock mining equipment or electrical cables extending underground. The equipment is slow moving and there are no power cables. Anthracite has a low volatile content and the mines are frequently damp.
The petitioner's alternative method consists of the following.
A chute off the gangway, no longer used in mining coal, will serve as a storage area. This area will allow the explosives to be stored out of the line of blasting. Ventilation controls (stoppings) will be relocated to provide room for the storage area and to provide protection from falling objects on the pitching seams. Access to the storage area will be by a 10 foot ladder that does not interfere with the gangway haulage system.
MSHA's Engineering and Testing Division of the Approval and Certification Center prepared Investigative Report MSRS 010103 concerning this alternative method. The report concludes that the 10 foot chutes can provide a safe environment for storage of explosives. The report made the following recommendations:
1. Some type of fail safe device needs to be used to prevent the person climbing down from the chute area (with hands full of explosives) from being impacted by moving equipment.
2. The area immediately above the explosive area must prevent debris from impacting the stored explosive material.
3. The storage area must have controls to ensure the security of the explosive material.
4. Provisions need to be addressed to ensure that the magazine records remain dry (water from the overhead mined out areas falls through the chutes).
5. These storage areas need to comply with explosive storage requirements.
All of these recommendations have been addressed in the terms and conditions described below.
On the basis of the petition and the findings of MSHA's investigations, the B. and B. Coal Company is granted a modification of the application of 30 CFR 75.1312(e)(1) to its Rock Ridge No. 1 Slope Mine.
ORDER
Wherefore, pursuant to the authority delegated by the Secretary of Labor to the Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health, and pursuant to Section 101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C., sec. 811(c), it is ordered that B. and B. Coal Company's Petition for Modification of the application of 30 CFR 75.1312(e)(1) in the Rock Ridge No. 1 Slope Mine is hereby:
GRANTED, to store explosives and detonators in an alternative location off the gangway at least 10 feet from roadways and any source of electric current, conditioned on compliance with the following terms and conditions:
1. The mine operator shall locate the storage of explosives and detonators in an inactive chute outby the working face.
2. The storage area shall be a minimum of 10 feet from any electrical source and out of the direct line of forces from blasting. A ventilation control shall be installed above the storage area to protect it from falling material and prevent air from short-circuiting below the storage area.
3. The explosives and detonators in the storage area shall be in separate closed magazines at least 5 feet apart.
4. When mining is conducted on or above the monkey level, the quantity of explosives and detonators outside of the magazines on that level for use in a working section or other area where blasting is to be performed shall comply with all the requirements of 75.1313.
5. The explosive and detonator magazine records shall be stored in a manner that they remain dry and legible.
6. Equipment shall not be moved or operated when a person is climbing down from the chute area with explosives or detonators. This limits exposure to moving equipment while carrying explosives or detonators.
7. With the exception of the 10 feet minimum, the operator shall comply with all other 30 CFR requirements.
8. Within 60 days after this Proposed Decision and Order becomes final, the Petitioner shall submit proposed revisions for its approved 30 CFR Part 48 training plan to the Coal Mine Safety and Health District Manager.The proposed revisions shall include initial and refresher training regarding compliance with the Proposed Decision and Order.
Any party to this action desiring a hearing on this matter shall file in accordance with 30 CFR 44.14, within 30 days. The request for hearing must be filed with the Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health, 1100 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22209-3939.
If a hearing is requested, the request shall contain a concise summary of position on the issues of fact or law desired to be raised by the party requesting the hearing, including specific objections to the proposed decision. A party other than Petitioner who has requested a hearing shall also comment upon all issues of fact or law presented in the petition, and any party to this action requesting a hearing may indicate a desired hearing site. If no request for a hearing is filed within 30 days after service thereof, the Decision and Order will become final and must be posted by the operator on the mine bulletin board at the mine.
John F. Langton
Acting Deputy Administrator
for Coal Mine Safety and Health